Society of the Cincinnati

This page documents the research into whether any of the Long family’s Revolutionary War ancestors connect to an eligible officer with a vacant seat in the Society of the Cincinnati ↗. It includes eliminated paths alongside the active leads, because showing the methodology matters more than the conclusion.

About the Society

On May 10, 1783, at the Cantonment on the Hudson River ↗, officers of the Continental Army gathered to form a fraternal organization before disbanding. Henry Knox ↗ proposed it. The first meeting included Baron von Steuben ↗, who had drilled the army at Valley Forge; Jedidiah Huntington ↗, whose family fortune suffered from his long absence at war; and Samuel Shaw, a Quaker who faced religious shunning for serving. These were men who had sacrificed everything — many went unpaid for years while neighbors who stayed home bought their farms — and didn’t want to lose each other.

They named the society after Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus ↗, the Roman dictator who left his plow to save the republic and then returned to his farm. The motto: “Omnia relinquit servare rempublicam”— He left everything to save the republic.

Membership is hereditary, passing through eldest male posterity of an original qualifying officer. A critical rule: when direct male lineage dies out, a daughter’s male descendantshave priority over collateral male branches. This rule is directly relevant to the family’s research — descent runs through Thankful Jenkins (daughter) to Captain Nathaniel Swift, meaning the daughter-line rule governs eligibility analysis.

Larz Anderson House ↗ in Washington, D.C. has served as the Society’s headquarters since 1938. It is the nation’s oldest patriotic organization.

In 1983, President Reagan was made an honorary member and told the gathering that their ancestors “served seven or eight years without pay, leaving families behind, fighting with courage and few supplies.”

Brevet Brigadier General Heman Swift (1733–1814)

Heman Swift ↗ was born October 14, 1733, in Sandwich ↗, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. His father Jabez Swift moved the family to Kent, Litchfield County, Connecticut, in 1743. Heman served as a private in the French and Indian War, rose to lieutenant, and was elected deputy to the Connecticut General Assembly before the Revolution.

In June 1776 he was appointed Colonel of a Connecticut State Regiment and reinforced Fort Ticonderoga. On January 1, 1777, he received his Continental commission as Colonel of the 7th Connecticut Regiment. At the Battle of Brandywine ↗ in September 1777, he carried the wounded Marquis de Lafayette ↗ from the field—an act for which he became famous. He wintered at Valley Forge ↗ and took the Oath of Allegiance there. On January 1, 1781, he transferred to Colonel of the 2nd Connecticut Regiment upon consolidation of the Connecticut Line. He was brevetted Brigadier General on September 30, 1783.

At the Battle of Brandywine, Colonel Swift carried the wounded Marquis de Lafayette from the field.

On July 4, 1783, Heman was elected Vice President of the Connecticut Society of the Cincinnati at the founding meeting of Connecticut officers at West Point. After the war he served as Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors (1790–1802). He was known as “Washington’s Colonel.” He died November 12, 1814, in Cornwall, Connecticut.

Heman Swift’s Paternal Line

Heman descends from William Swyft, a leatherseller of London who emigrated in 1634, settling first in Watertown and then in Sandwich, Plymouth Colony. The line runs through five generations:

The Connection: Two Brothers, One Immigrant

Heman Swift and your 6th great-grandfather Solomon Swift (1745, Falmouth) both descend from William Swift II (1627–1705)of Sandwich—the common ancestor. The lines split at the third generation: William II had at least eleven children, including William III (b. 1654) and Jirah (b. ~1670). William III’s descendants moved to Falmouth and became your direct ancestors. Jirah’s descendants moved to Connecticut and produced Heman.

Solomon Swift and Heman Swift are second cousins once removed. Solomon’s great-grandfather (William III) and Heman’s grandfather (Jirah) were brothers.

Your Line: William II → Falmouth → You

Heman Swift’s Military Service

Eligibility note:Heman Swift’s Cincinnati seat is currently represented. The connection is documented here for genealogical interest.

Captain Barber Peckham (~1756–1807)

Captain Barber Peckham (PID: M2WB-3BG) was born around 1756 in South Kingstown ↗, Rhode Island, and served as a captain in Rhode Island forces during the Revolution. He married Sarah Sheffield and drowned in Newport Harbor on May 7, 1807. He is a direct ancestor through the Peckham line.

The Peckham Chain to You

Barber Peckham connects to you through the Harrison and Winter families, and through the Peckham line back to the Mayflower passengers. Mary Peckham (PID: LR79-JWN) married into the Harrison family, and that line flows through Fanny Harrison Winter into Rachael Winter Swift—your maternal great-grandmother.

Eligibility note:Barber Peckham’s Cincinnati seat is currently represented by the Wickes family line. Unless that line goes extinct, the seat is blocked.

Captain Benjamin Lawton Peckham (1753–1821)

Olney’s Rhode Island Continental Battalion — Original Member

Captain Benjamin Lawton Peckham was born July 1, 1753, in Newport, Rhode Island (PID: K4NQ-B7N). He served as Captain in Olney’s Rhode Island Continental Battalion to November 3, 1783, making him an Original Member of the Society of the Cincinnati. He died August 15, 1821, in Wickford, Rhode Island.

Benjamin was the 2nd son of Benoni Peckham and Mary Lawton. He married Hannah Wall, who died March 10, 1805. They had one child.

Extinction of Direct Line

Benjamin’s only child, Elizabeth Peckham (1789–1820, PID: L4QZ-ZC4), married Capt. Christopher Low Phillips. Their three children all died without issue:

Captain Benjamin Peckham’s direct line has been extinct since 1848. No living direct descendants exist.

Source: Peckham Genealogy (Stephen Farnum Peckham, 1922, p. 271); FamilySearch vital records.

Collateral Descent Through Benoni Gardiner

Benoni Gardiner (ca. 1640, PID: LVF7-5YN) is the common ancestor. Two branches descend from him:

Status: Collateral descent chain documented via Benoni Gardiner (MRCA). Extinction of direct line documented. Research ongoing.

Swift Line — Direct Descent from Revolutionary War Soldier

Solomon Swift(1745–1807) of Falmouth, Massachusetts, is your 6th great-grandfather and a documented Revolutionary War soldier. He served in September 1779, placing him in active military service during the war. Solomon was the son of William Swift V (1719–1809) and Dorcas Hatch, and married Susannah Childs on April 8, 1769, in Falmouth.

SAR/DAR eligibility:Confirmed — Solomon Swift’s documented September 1779 service qualifies for both the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution.

Cincinnati eligibility: CLOSED. Research completed against Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Vol. XV (p. 319) and Heitman’s Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army(1914 rev.). Solomon Swift served as Private in Capt. Samuel Fish’s company, Col. Nathaniel Freeman’s regiment (1st Barnstable County state militia) — 6 days on coastal alarm at Dartmouth and Falmouth, September 1779. The regiment was state militia, not Continental Army. No commission to Lieutenant or higher is documented in any canonical Continental officer roll. Cincinnati membership requires commissioned officer status in the Continental Army, Continental Navy, or French allied forces — none of which apply. SAR and DAR eligibility through Solomon Swift remains open.

Active Leads

Cincinnati membership requires descent from a commissioned Continental officer who served 3+ years (or died/was incapacitated in service). Militia service after June 1775 does notcount. Each officer has one “seat” — if living descendants represent it, the seat is blocked. Vacant seats are the opportunity. What follows is where the research stands.

●Green — 4 Vacant Seats (Under Investigation)

Confirmed PID chain: James Green (1640, PID: LTVK-5Z4) → Samuel Green (1680, PID: G4RN-WPH) → Rebecca Green (1710, PID: L7VM-LS4) → John Jenkins (1709, PID: GQKC-28G) → James Jenkins (1735, PID: GWZX-1MP) → Thankful Jenkins (1776, PID: MF8H-Y4S) → Capt. Nathaniel Swift (PID: MF8H-YW2) → Swift line to present.

●SAR Eligibility — James Jenkins (Confirmed)

James Jenkins(1735–1807, PID: GWZX-1MP), Falmouth, Barnstable County. DAR Ancestor #A062063. Private. Served April 19, 1775 and December 1776. Direct ancestor through his daughter Thankful Jenkins who married Capt. Nathaniel Swift.

SAR/DAR eligibility:Confirmed through James Jenkins. Cincinnati eligibility requires commissioned officer status — Jenkins served as Private, so this path qualifies for SAR/DAR but not Cincinnati.

●Foster — 4 Vacant Seats (Collateral — Research Ongoing)

Finding: Foster is collateral, not direct line. James Foster (LHTP-LP7) is the husband of a 6th cousin 9x removed, not a direct ancestor through the Perry line. The Foster connection on the Nantucket page has been corrected. Research continues on whether any Foster officers connect through other paths.

●Gardner — 2 Vacant Seats (Collateral — Research Ongoing)

Finding: Capt. Isaac Gardner (KIA Lexington, April 19, 1775) is collateral— husband of a 3rd cousin 9x removed, not direct line. Research continues on whether other Gardner officers connect through direct descent.

Barber — 2 Vacant Seats

Status: Barber surname appears in the Westcott/Peckham line (Rhode Island). Needs geographic match to determine if these officers connect.

Perry — 1 Vacant Seat

Bradford’s Regiment recruited from Plymouth, Bristol, and Barnstable Counties — exactly the geography of the documented Perry line. What remains to be determined is Ensign Perry’s specific birthplace and parentage. Research avenues include Volume 12 of Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors (digitized on FamilySearch), NARA compiled service records (M881 microfilm on Fold3), and the Valley Forge Muster Roll database.

Closed Leads

The following officers were investigated and eliminated. Showing the eliminated paths is part of showing the work.

Research Resources

• Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors, Vol. 15 ↗ — free at archive.org. Solomon Swift’s service confirmed here.
• Barney Genealogical Database ↗ — 40,000+ Nantucketers, free. Search Gardner and Foster here.
• Nantucket Historical Association Research Library — library@nha.org — ask about military service records for founding families.
• New Bedford Whaling Museum — Leroy E. Swift Navy records, White Wing ship registry.
• American Revolution Institute ↗ — full registry of 3,432 represented officers.
• Eligibility rule: Requires 3+ years Continental service. Militia service after June 1775 does NOT count. State Line regiments adopted into Continental service DO count.

Sources

• Heman Swift — Wikipedia ↗
• Heman Swift — WikiTree ↗
• William Swyft of Sandwitch and Some of His Descendants, 1637–1899— George H. Swift (1900) ↗
• Eben Swift, “William Swift and His Descendants to the Sixth Generation”— Pamphlet No. 15, Library of Cape Cod History and Genealogy (1923). Available on Ancestry ↗ and FamilySearch microfilm.
• American Revolution Institute — Officers Represented in the Society of the Cincinnati ↗
• Peckham Genealogy(1922) — FamilySearch Digital Library ↗

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